New Zealand’s banks have shrugged off global market turmoil and the depressed dairy sector to make a net profit of $1.1 billion in the first three months of this year.

KPMG’s Financial Institutions Performance Survey shows the banks’ collective earnings were up 8 per cent on the previous quarter – with ANZ’s profit up $69 million to $416m and BNZ’s increasing $67m to $259m for the three months ending March 31.

Net profits for Westpac, ASB/CBA and Kiwibank were down on the previous quarter but were still near record levels.

Total bank profits hit a quarterly record high in the three months to September last year when they reached $1.27b.

Non-interest income – income that comes from fees and charges applied by the banks – as well as gains from financial instruments – was the biggest driver behind the profit growth – according to the report.

(cont..)

(ed:..whew..!..that’s a relief..!..eh..?..that so many things are turning to shit – but the banksters are making (record(!) profits..

(and that profit mainly from clipping the tickets of their mug-punter customers – with/by their ‘fees and charges’..)

but we all know the banksters always win/never lose –

– and that is ‘cos the system is rigged in their favour – and against the interests of those aforementioned ‘mug-punters’…(funny that..!..eh..?..)..

market goes up – market goes down – those tickets are still clipped..

..and when those banks are foreign-owned (as is mainly the case in nz) that ‘rigging’ just seems all the more compounded..eh..?..